What does a scientist mean when she say ““It’s rare nowadays to have fundamental discoveries in science”?

Question

I was reading an article on the discovery of salty ice that may be present on exoplanets. The head scientist prefaced the discovery saying ““It’s rare nowadays to have fundamental discoveries in science”. I know she is basically saying that big science discoveries aren’t made anymore. All of the major discoveries have been made already. But that doesn’t feel right. Is she correct?

Here is the article for all those interested.

https://www.washington.edu/news/2023/02/21/newly-discovered-form-of-salty-ice-could-exist-on-surface-of-extraterrestrial-moons/

In: 19

Answer 1

The more we know about science, the harder it is to make a new fundamental discovery that changes everything. It still happens. But there are a high volume of small, incremental discoveries that are the norm.